The Briar Archive

Foreword by Martin Rank As impossible as it sounds, everything you’re about to read really happened. I don’t know what brought you to this book. You might believe in the Mandela Effect; the idea that time has been mysteriously changed, and that some people still remember alternate versions of history. You might believe in magic. You might have heard about a strange thing that happened online, dubbed The Monarch Papers, where thousands of people from around the world joined together try and reveal the altered, magic history of our world. The thing is, it’s all true. Even the magic part. This is the most complete retelling I could possibly put together, given that the events documented in The Monarch Papers spanned nearly eighteen months, dozens of sites and blogs, hundreds of comments, and nearly 30,000 forum posts. Many of the sites and other online sources mentioned in the following pages no longer exist. By the end of this story, you’ll understand why. I was also aggressively urged by CJ Bernstein, current custodian of Ackerly Green Publishing, to tell my story along with everything else that happened. He wanted me to share how my past began to collide with the strange story you’re about to read. I’ve reluctantly obliged, because I think it’s important. Why? Well, because although I tried to keep my distance as a journalist and a skeptic, I was eventually drawn deep into the strange world of Ackerly Green Publishing. By choosing this book, you have also decided to pursue a truth that most are unwilling, or unable, to accept. And once you know everything that happened, once you know what we did, and what we found, you may be surprised to find that your own life also collides with this unbelievable story.